Former FM told Nicola Sturgeon of harassment allegations against chief whip three years ago
Alex Salmond warned Nicola Sturgeon about sexual harassment allegations against SNP MP Patrick Grady three years ago, it has emerged.
The former first minister told his successor about complaints against the party’s chief whip at Westminster when they met at her home to discuss harassment allegations against him, according to senior sources.
Patrick Grady stepped aside as the SNP’S chief whip atwestminster last week as the party launched an investigation into claims that he had sexually harassed a party worker in 2016. Letters sent to the then House of Common’s Speaker John Bercow in December 2017 and early 2018, revealed for the first time last week, detailed concerns about the MP’S behaviour at an SNP Christmas party in 2016.
The letters claimed Grady groped two male researchers at the party, but was being “protected” by the party. The party launched an investigation on Tuesday evening. The Post understands Alex Salmond raised Grady’s behaviour at the First Minister’ s home on April 2, 2018. The summit at the First Minister’s home in Glasgow was arranged to discuss complaints against Salmond.
A senior and informed SNP source said: “During their meeting, Alex discussed with Nicola an allegation made against Patrick Grady. It did not seem to come as a surprise to her. The party was undoubtedly aware of these claims for some time so why was an investigation only launched years later?”
Last week an SNP staff worker claimed an MP, identified as Grady, inappropriately touched him in the Water Poet pub when he was 19. He said: “I was sitting on a couch speaking with colleagues and he perched himself on the side of the couch. At that point, he started putting his fingers down the back of my collar, touching me inappropriately there. He was also grabbing my hair.”
It is understood the claim against Grady raised by Salmond with the First Minister in 2018 related
to another alleged victim. Other allegations, said to be detailed in letters sent to Bercow, raised concerns about Grady’s behaviour at a Christmas party in 2016 when he allegedly groped two researchers at the Phoenix Artist Club.
The meeting between Salmond and Sturgeon has featured in the inquiry into the Scottish government’s botched investigation of sexual harassment allegations against the former first minister.
Sturgeon claimed she first learnt of harassment complaints against Salmond at their meeting at her home but later admitted to having “forgotten” a meeting four days earlier with Salmond’s aide Geoff Aberdein, during which the investigation was discussed.
The SNP said: “No complaint had been received prior to this week. Now a formal complaint has been made this week, due process must take place and we will not be commenting further while an investigation is under way.”
Salmond declined to comment.